A wildflower (seed pod) in the sunflower family. This one we found at the 7,000 foot level of Little Mt. Baldy in Sequoia National Park. Oddly, or maybe not, Little Baldy is 33 feet lower than Big Baldy. Either way, it you go, take the trail to Little Baldy if you want an overlook of the entire Western Divide.
This particular seed cluster caught my attention immediately. At 4 inches across and every seed perfectly arranged, it could only be missed by the most unattentive hiker. The flowers you see are not Goatsbeard, but two or three of the 20+ wildflowers you can see going up Little Baldy.
My wife and I made this hike five times. It is grueling when hot, but never tedious. I can't do it anymore, but I have no regrets: I have 1,000 pictures of scenery, wildflowers, three species of butterflies mating in "flocks," and two new species (for me) of birds. And chipmunks, sequoias, deer, (no bear on this trail) wildflowers that I see nowhere else. And better yet, a memory that recalls almost every wind in the trail, all the alpine meadows, and a lack of people.
Big Baldy was a bit of a disappointment because it is on the Fresno side of the park, i.e.,. to the west. But the Western Divide is what Little Baldy is to the west. The reason someone named them "Baldy" is that the crest of each trail is a huge granite outcropping. If you go, be careful in the last 250 feet or so. It's very slippery even when dry.
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